A humorous story is told about a photographer for a national magazine who was assigned to get photos of a great fire. Smoke at the scene hampered him and he asked his home office to hire a plane. Arrangements were made and he was told to go at once to a nearby airport, where the plane would be waiting. When he arrived at the airport, a plane was warming up near the runway. He jumped in with his equipment and yelled, “Let’s go! Let’s go!” The pilot swung the plane into the wind and soon they were in the air. “Fly over the north side of the fire, yelled the photographer, “and make three or four low level passes.” “Why?” asked the pilot. “Because I’m going to take pictures,” cried the photographer. “I’m a photographer and photographers take pictures!” After a pause the pilot said, “You mean you’re not the instructor?”
Funny stories can help illustrate important life and leadership lessons. Below are 3 helpful principles extracted from the story about the photographer.
It’s Good to Get a High Level View
When setting a goal or getting assigned to a specific task, it’s good to get a higher level view of what needs to be achieved. While some would say the phrase, “30,000 foot view,” is annoying and over used, the intent is simply to get a bigger picture understanding. Individuals and teams need various perspectives with regard to what is considered a successful outcome. Most importantly they need to know what is considered a success by their manager, supervisor or leadership team. Getting a “big picture” view along with perspectives from those “on the ground” will go a long way in achieving success.
It’s Good to Have the Right People on Board
In the story above, imagine the thoughts running through the minds of the pilot and the photographer when they realized neither one of them could be very useful to the other in a critical moment of need. No leader wants to discover they have the wrong team member when things begin to heat-up or when the project is on the line. Whether it’s a short-term project or long-term employment opportunity, locating and attracting the right talent is important.
With the right mix of personalities and experiences, team members will depend on one another, challenge one another and bring out the best in one another.
Brian Tracey, author and speaker, said, “Transformational leaders pick the right people, match them to the right jobs, achieve mutual clarity on the desired results, and then they get out of the way and leave the individual with maximum freedom to perform.”
It’s Good to Communicate
Good communication is the key to success. Most issues in relationships, personal or professional, can be traced back to a breakdown in communication. The breakdown may be in the form of a misunderstanding, a lack of information or a lack of clarity. Either way, taking steps to ensure communication has occurred is critical if we wish to avoid what George Bernard Shaw once identified as the challenge in communication saying, “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”
Asking questions, seeking more information and ensuring all parties understand what’s been communicated will help us to keep from hearing this statement, “I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”